New research suggests that being delivered through a caesarean section could affect babies' cognitive and brain development.

Researchers from York University in Canada found that a caesarean section can "impede a baby's ability to concentrate," The Toronto Sun reported. The procedure slows their spatial attention, which plays a role in how well they are able to prioritize and focus on a particular area or object that is of interest.

"Our research has revealed that being born by a C-section slows a baby's spatial attention, which plays a role in its ability to focus on a particular area or object of interest," researcher Scott Adler told The Toronto Sun.

The study consisted of two experiments involving different groups of 36 three-month-old infants, The Toronto Sun reported. Their eye movement was monitored, as an indication of what caught the babies' attention. Eyes cannot move to where someone's attention is not directed. Therefore, disruptions or changes in the mechanisms involved in attention would manifest in subsequent eye movement.

Based on their findings, researchers concluded that a child's birth experience "only affects their stimulus-driven, reflexive attention, and not their cognitive-driven, voluntary attention," The Toronto Sun reported.

"The findings add a potential psychological implication to the roster of impacts that caesarean section delivery might have," researcher Audrey Wong-Kee-You said in a statement.

The findings are detailed in the journal Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics.